Denver Voters Thinking Beyond TV, See Real Meaning of Obama Change

Denver -- Sen. Barack Obama has been having an amazing effect on some people here in the Mile High City. At bus stations, work sites, with the whole spectrum of humanity, I'm hearing people thinking about him, thinking about his policies and about politics in general. Change is definitely in the wind.

They're thinking about our nation, in spite of the mindlessness of the back-and-forth slapstick TV advertising, the cult-like phone banks and followers who seem to know no limits as to where and when they will interject and assume that their cause supersedes all others. Some Denver area residents have cast early ballots and put up signs on their doors saying "already voted," and still canvassers knock.

It has been mind-numbing.

In spite of all the noise, everyday people in Denver are thinking about Barack Obama and about change.

It's almost like the visible political shenanigans are a smokescreen for what's really going on. The media is not making much effort to present both sides. So, thinking people here have been doing their own analysis.

I heard some average folks with suspicions that something more powerful is going on here.

One black woman, an acquaintance of mine sitting at a bus station, wondered aloud why Barack Obama was getting such treatment that she thought was based on his color - and then remarked that he wasn't even truly black, as she knew it.

A group of us from various backgrounds, mostly working class, were talking about the history of this country each filling in blanks in the others' memories. One thing we noted was that Presidents of our country tend to run singly, with party affiliations, but with much broader organized support than is visible.

Even our founding fathers had joined together in organizations outside the realm of politics, one noted. I mentioned the current conservative fascination with recorded interviews with Barack Obama presenting his constitutional views, and the light went on: Senator Obama's view of change is fundamental, even revolutionary.

But, we agreed, what we've got right now really, tragically doesn't work. Obama's got a point. But it's not being debated, or even widely presented. We just have the predefined 'issues.' Our national Presidential race has little room for the kind of thought we're doing on our lunch breaks!

Even though the Democratic party is Obama's vehicle to the top, as candidate Ron Paul chose the Republican party for his Constitution-based run, both have an eye on fundamentals in our country.

Barack Obama has to work with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, but there are limits. Major bills like SCHIP and the 'bailout bill' are heading to the White House for signature with amazing amounts of what is called 'pork'. The 'pork'' is really just unrelated bills riding through on the coattails of must-have legislation without a separate vote. After reading through the three original pages plus 400-plus pages of pork in the bailout bill, anyone can see it. As an example, what did insurance for mental health or funding of rural roads and schools have to do with banking?

Washington is full of people who play the game, and he has bypassed most of the game playing. Even Tom Daschle, another superb Democratic Party game player, said on PBS' Frontline: Choice 2008 that he advised Barack Obama to run for President before he had too many deals to explain.

So, the people are getting it here in Denver. People who work hard for a living, but have a heart for knowledge and thinking. The 60's revolutionaries know he's one of theirs, and those who struggle because of the weight of the dealmaking system know he's one of theirs. Even something as sacred as the Constitution has to come from somewhere, as we realized during an impromptu conversation, and as with candidates of today there were likely other interests involved. So goes Barack Obama's thinking as well.

Others such as William Ayers and Rev. Jeremiah Wright have added the spark and rebellion, but Barack Obama has put all he has into studying and teaching the United States Constitution so that he could find a new way that works. Change is a powerful word, not just a slogan, we realized, and Obama is not just another politician.

"Frontline:Choice 2008", http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice2008/

"McCain to attack Obama for Public Radio comments from 2001", http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/mccain-to-attac.html